Nowadays, motor vehicles, particularly trucks, have a large number of different sensors and actuators arranged around them. For operation, such sensors and actuators generally have to be connected to an open-loop control and evaluation electronic system via electrical lines. The electrical conductors which are used to connect the sensors and actuators are subject to high mechanical loads depending on the type and position of the sensor or actuator. This relates, in particular, to the region of the formation of contact between the electrical line and the housing of the sensors or actuators since the electrical conductor which comes from the outside has to be coupled there both electrically and mechanically to the internal components of the sensors/actuators. In the region where contact is made, not only does mechanical loading occur due to bending of the connecting lines but there is also thermal loading as a result of specific local thermal gradients and the different expansion behavior of the various materials.
Conventional solutions provide, for example, a high-strength copper line, the mechanical and thermal properties of which are not yet sufficient for many applications without further measures being taken. For this reason, other solutions provide pure steel lines made of a special alloy, but they are comparatively expensive to manufacture.